In a night full of mixed emotions, the Hollister High softball team celebrated its state title run with a set of new shiny rings to show off for years to come.
The players received their jewelry on Jan. 3 in a ceremony at the Granada Theater in downtown Hollister.
The Haybalers won 22 of their final 23 games en route to league and section titles before concluding with a riveting 1-0, nine inning win over St. Francis on June 3 in the CIF NorCal Regional Division I playoff championship game at Ray Barragan Stadium.
Top-seed Hollister finished the season 30-3 and beat the No. 2 seed Lancers (29-4) seven days after dominating them 4-0 in the Central Coast Section Open Division championship contest. Hollister finished as the No. 1 team in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, a first not just for the softball program but all of the school’s sports teams.
